Following the "Three Thousand Miles of Chang'an", uncovering the splendid cultural heritage of the Three Gorges

"Chang'an 30,000 Miles" has recently become popular

It not only shows the image of literati with flesh and blood

It also reflects the interweaving of the tide of the times and personal destiny.

Thousands of miles of poetry and the romantic sentiment unique to the Chinese

The film recreates Li Bai's life through the poet Gao Shi

Then present a group portrait of Tang Dynasty poets

Through the well-known ancient poems

We saw many "figures" of the Three Gorges.

For example, "Early Departure from Baidi City" and "Moon Song of Mount Emei"

…

In this issue, we take advantage of the trend of "Chang'an 30,000 Miles"

Let's experience the charm of the Three Gorges cultural heritage and museums

Come and check in together~

2D ink painting stills of "30,000 Miles in Chang'an", source: Douban

In the 13th year of Kaiyuan Period in Tang Dynasty, when the 25-year-old Li Bai "left his country with a sword, bid farewell to his relatives and traveled far away", he went to Chongqing for the first time and wrote "Song of the Moon on Mount Emei".

Song of the Moon on Mount Emei

The moon over Mount Emei is half full in autumn, its shadow falls into the flowing water of Pingqiang River.

I set out from Qingxi to the Three Gorges at night, missing you as I don't see you in Yuzhou.

Afterwards, Li Bai passed through Yuzhou (now Yuzhong Peninsula), Fuzhou (now Fuling), Zhongzhou (now Zhongxian), Nanpu (now Wanzhou), and Kuizhou (now Fengjie), and arrived at the mouth of the Three Gorges.

2D ink painting stills of "30,000 Miles in Chang'an", source: Douban

At that time, if young talents in Sichuan wanted to leave Sichuan to serve their country, they had to go through Kuimen, which is the Qutang Gorge.

When Li Bai reached Kuimen, it was winter and the Three Gorges were closed to navigation. He was trapped in Kuimen with great ambitions. To relieve his boredom, he wrote "Staying at the Foot of Wushan Mountain".

Stay at the foot of Wushan Mountain

Last night at the foot of Wushan Mountain, the sound of monkeys was heard in my dreams.

Peach blossoms fly over the green water, and Qutang River flows in March.

The wind blew away the rain, and the southward direction brushed the King of Chu.

I miss Song Yu in Gaoqiu, and visit the ancient sites with my clothes wet.

Li Bai, who was stuck in Kuimen, was deeply impressed by the fairy-like beauty of the Three Gorges. He spent a winter traveling in Fuling, Wanzhou and other places, leaving behind many poems and legends.

2D ink painting stills of "30,000 Miles in Chang'an", source: Douban

So, is the charm of the Three Gorges just its beautiful scenery?

In fact, the Three Gorges area includes the area where the Yangtze River and its tributaries flow from Yichang, Hubei in the east to Chongqing in the west. It is the most dangerous canyon on the Yangtze River and has given birth to rich cultural relics.

Pulling back the curtain

The evolution of the Three Gorges cultural heritage protection

From the late 20th century to the early 21st century, during the construction of the Three Gorges Project, the rescue protection of cultural relics in the Three Gorges reservoir area was the largest, most extensive and most participated cultural relic protection project in my country to date.

In April 1992, the Fifth Session of the Seventh National People's Congress passed a resolution to build the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River. In December 1994, the Three Gorges Project officially started.

With the construction of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River, rescue excavation of underground cultural relics buried in the Three Gorges reservoir area has become an urgent matter.

On June 19, 1997, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government jointly held the "National Cooperation Conference on the Rescue of Three Gorges Cultural Relics". At the conference, the Chongqing cultural relics department signed nearly 100 agreements on the protection of Three Gorges cultural relics with more than 20 universities and more than 30 cultural and museum institutions across the country.

Since 1997, a total of 55 relevant units from across the country have come to Chongqing to conduct archaeological excavations of Three Gorges cultural relics on an unprecedented scale.

The Three Gorges Reservoir area in Chongqing is rich in cultural relics resources, and Chongqing has the heaviest task in the entire Three Gorges cultural relics protection project.

In October 1998, the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Culture established a Three Gorges Cultural Relics Protection Leading Group with an office, and the protection of the Three Gorges cultural relics in the Chongqing reservoir area was put on the right track.

After this unprecedented battle in the history of world archaeology, the historical and cultural context of the Three Gorges has been clearly reproduced, and a large number of precious cultural relics and research results are showing the glorious ancient civilization of the Three Gorges region.

Entering the Three Gorges

The Ba people, the Ba nation, and the Ba culture

Ba people totem statue, source: Chongqing Ba people Museum

The exploration of the Ba people, the Ba State and the Ba culture is a key topic in the cultural relics protection work of the Three Gorges Project.

More than 100 sites that may be related to the Ba people during the Shang and Zhou dynasties have been discovered through archaeological research. In particular, many large sites and cemeteries discovered between Wushan and Fuling, such as Shuangyantang in Wushan, Lijiaba in Yunyang, Yujiaba in Kaixian, Zhongba in Zhongxian, Zhongbazi in Wanzhou, and Xiaotianxi in Fuling, have made breakthrough progress and significant gains in the understanding of Ba culture.

Chongqing Wushan Little Three Gorges

Among them, the Dongsunba site is located in Tongguanyi Town, Jiulongpo District. It is the earliest Ba culture site in the country that has been archaeologically excavated and confirmed. It is the place where Ba culture got its name and evidence.

In the 1950s, the former Southwest Museum and the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Management Committee carried out four archaeological excavations on the site, clearing a total of 81 tombs, mainly Ba culture tombs from the late Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty. A large number of typical Ba culture artifacts were unearthed, which set off a nationwide craze for Ba culture research.

The "Ba Wind is Fierce - Archaeological Results Exhibition of the Dongsunba Ba People Site" hosted by the Chongqing Ba People Museum takes "Looking Back at Two Thousand Years and Sixty Years of Exploration" as its theme. It systematically sorts out the previous archaeological work at the Dongsunba site, focuses on displaying the results of archaeological excavations in 2020, and reviews and looks forward to the relationship between the Dongsunba site and Ba culture research.

A total of more than 10 precious archives, more than 60 pictures, and more than 60 fine cultural relics were exhibited, and the archaeological site of the Dongsunba Ba People's Ruins was restored using a sand table and 3D scanning.

The Zhongba Site in Zhong County is the ancient site with the thickest cultural deposits, the longest duration, and the richest types and quantities of relics in Chongqing. It is an extremely rare "general history-style" ancient site in China and even in the world, and was rated as one of the "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in the Country" in 1998.

The Lijiaba site in Yunyang County dates from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Han and Six Dynasties. From 1997 to 2002, it underwent six large-scale archaeological excavations. The Ba people's tombs at the Lijiaba site are a large-scale, well-preserved, and richly unearthed Ba people's tombs from the Warring States Period. It was rated as one of the "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China" in 1998.

Yunyang County, Chongqing

In order to better showcase the history of Bayu, the Chongqing Ba People Museum, as an important platform for foreign exchanges, is dedicated to displaying the Ba people, the Ba country, and the Ba culture, mainly reflecting the life history of the Ba people.

Through archaeological excavation and restoration of scenes, historical relics, and descendants of the Ba people, visitors can return to the country of Ba and deeply feel the charm of Ba culture. Interested friends should not miss it~

Diving Underwater

Saving the Baiheliang Ruins

Chongqing Baiheliang Underwater Museum, source: Upstream News

The types of ground cultural relics (including underwater) of the Three Gorges Project include stone towers, religious buildings, residential buildings, stone cultural relics, hydrological stone carvings, ancient bridges, and ancient shipping and transportation relics.

Among them, the inscription on Baiheliang, the "world's first ancient hydrological station", is located in the middle of the Yangtze River north of Fuling City. The inscription on the beam was first carved before the first year of Guangde in the Tang Dynasty, and records the low water hydrological information of 72 years over more than 1,200 years.

In February 2001, Ge Xiurun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, proposed a new on-site underwater protection engineering plan based on the concept of "pressureless container".

The project consists of an underwater protection body, an underwater traffic corridor, a sloped traffic corridor, and an underwater visiting corridor. The inscriptions are in a "pressureless container", and a ground exhibition hall on the shore is connected to the traffic corridor.

The project started in March 2003 and was completed in May 2009, realizing the protection and appreciation of the original water environment of the Baiheliang inscriptions. This is the most difficult project involving the most technical disciplines in underwater cultural relics protection to date, and the first attempt in the world to build a site-type underwater museum at a depth of more than 40 meters.

The protection and utilization of underwater cultural relics by the Baiheliang Underwater Museum is a microcosm of Chongqing's inheritance and promotion of Yangtze River culture. With the implementation of the Three Gorges Cultural Relics Protection Project, the connotation of Yangtze River culture is constantly enriched.

Relocation and cofferdam

Protection is ongoing

Zhang Fei Temple, source: Chongqing Yunyang Longgang Scenic Area official WeChat account

Zhang Fei Temple, also known as Zhang Huanhou Temple, is across the river from Yunyang County. It was built to commemorate Zhang Fei, a famous general in the Three Kingdoms period, and has a history of more than 1,800 years. The temple is built on the mountain, facing the river, with layers upon layers, and in an orderly manner.

The Zhang Fei Temple was closed and demolished in October 2002, and was rebuilt and reopened in July 2003. It was rebuilt in its original form on the other side of Yunyang New City, and the original environment and layout were well preserved.

This is the cultural relic relocation project with the longest relocation distance, the highest cultural relic level, and the largest single project investment since the founding of New China.

Shibaozhai, Zhongxian County

Shibaozhai is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, 45 kilometers east of Zhongxian County, Chongqing City. It is built on the cliffs of Yuyin Mountain on the river side. The entire building consists of three parts: the village gate, the village tower, and the ancient temple on the top of the village.

Shibaozhai is the only way up the mountain and is known as one of the "Eight Strange Buildings in the World".

Three Gorges Dam

After the Three Gorges Reservoir is filled to an elevation of 156 meters, the water will flood to the mountain gate. The project started in March 2006 and was completed in March 2009. The cofferdam scheme was adopted to protect Shibaozhai in situ.

In addition, the three Han Dynasty ques discovered below the second water level line of the Three Gorges Reservoir - Dingfang Que, Wuming Que and Wuyang Que - are the first national treasure-level ground cultural relics to be relocated and protected in the reservoir area.

They are all well protected and have found their homes in the China Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing and the Baigong Temple in Zhong County respectively.

Source: Chongqing Jiulongpo District Cultural Relics Management Office

Author: Chongqing Ba People Museum

Source: State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Upstream News, Chongqing Daily, Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Committee

Image source: Photo Network

Audit expert: Li Chunli

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